The power of wordplay.

(Vance the Gelded bides, waiting, barbarian, with three Signamancers' stack. In service to XON, that vile feral, with its cryptic promises, he's outcast: none hate him more than his former, tyrannous side. He stole a princess from those magocrats, named Chastity, trapped in its capital, a city - Punishment.

Caught in the forest, his old side's Shockamancers, Masters, are regarding him with dead-eyed malice. As when once they were quartered in the great dungeon called the Punishment Sphere, their eyes glitter, dull, hazed.

As he approaches the boundary of his old side's capital hex, deadly, Vance the Gelded raises his voice in merry, merry song, his diction the image of the classical gentleman, his livery the bloody vines of XON. His croaking is imminent: his blank eyes white, as he opens himself to the Magic.)

---

(The Masters reach out as one, and point crackling fingers, then pause. One by one, their fingers fall in the flicker of a Rhyme flow. As basic concentration fails, fireworks almost overwhelm the thrum of an active Rhyme-o-Master.)

---

(Critically wounded by their own random fire, the Masters look more lost than ever. The Signamancers advance in raiment of XON as the last stanzas come out.)

Grief and ghosts: what we brokeWe choke: the Titans-spoken.Made our moment in tones When we woke, all tokens,We evoke, Titans-broken,

We know what you have to say against us, We know crimes against avenge us.We know we're the dross n' scum,We are overrun.We admit we are now the type:To take Shock's head with his own stunWe are outgunned: by all four of you chumps.

I did steal that girl: we're still sitting hereLaughing: boop the 'free' world.

Never try to judge us, fools,You don't know what we had to go through.Yet we know something about you:Forsaking Titans to love violent rule.

What's the matter, oafs: embarrassed?Miens not calm: Flower Power crashing.And that Flower Power made your Shocks all go weaker,The weaker they get the more you pray, "Perish."

You don't want to battle: shook.See there's no such thing as 'halfway Shocked'.You're scared to pop, and scared to lookIn your booping spellbooks: Pawn-takes-Rook:

Look now. You're Shocking.

Vance's composed expression crawls with different emotions. As the Shockmancers' dull eyes, terrified, widen: whispering from XON presses Vance to one final word. He gestures, tosses his head back, and HOWLS:)

We know what you have to say against us, We know crimes against avenge us.We know we're the dross n' scum,We are overrun.We admit we are now the type:To take Shock's head with his own stunWe are outgunned: by all four of you chumps.

I did steal that girl: we're still sitting hereLaughing: boop the 'free' world.

Never try to judge us, fools,You don't know what we had to go through.Yet we know something about you:Forsaking Titans to love violent rule.

What's the matter, oafs: embarrassed?Miens not calm: Flower Power crashing.And that Flower Power made your Shocks all go weaker,The weaker they get the more you pray, "Perish."

You don't want to battle: shook.See there's no such thing as 'halfway Shocked'.You're scared to pop, and scared to lookIn your booping spellbooks: Pawn-takes-Rook:

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